Timocleia Gwilym
Second Year
Gryffindor
It is almost the holidays. I am sure that you are as happy about the holidays as I am! But before we all go home for the holidays, here is an interview I did with Professor Nianasha Williams, our new Mythology Professor. She has not been here very long! But as you will find out, she has been many places and did many different things before coming to Hogwarts. She is very nice, and did not want to be too tall over me, so she said she could sit on the floor. I was worried that an old person should not sit on the floor, but she said she is not that old and she could sit on the floor so that was okay.
Before I get to the interview, though, I wanted to tell everyone that I am a little worried about Joe Housemate, because I have not seen him in a while. I am worried that someone did not like what he told me to put in my last article, and might have put him in a wardrobe or a drawer somewhere. So if you know where Joe Housemate is, please tell me. Anyway, here is the interview.
What is your first name?
Professor Williams said her name is Nianasha. She spelled it out for me so I could write it correctly. Which is why I can spell it. Before I could ask her if she had a nickname, she said that people call her Nia too, and she likes that more. But I thought ‘Nianasha’ was an unusual name, so I asked her:
What kind of a name is that? It does not sound English.
The Professor said it is not English, but maybe it is Hindi. She said it means ‘sky’ and is from a Muggle music band’s songs. They sing about someone named Nianasha. Williams is a very common name in Wales. My own family name, Gwilym, is just a Welsh version of the name. If it is a first name, then it is just William. So I asked her next:
Where did you grow up? Are you Welsh?
She said she is not Welsh. She grew up in London, and her mother’s parents are from London too. She does not know where her father’s parents come from, so maybe she is part Welsh.
Are you from a Wizarding family? From a Muggle family?
The Professor’s family is all-Wizarding. So she grew up with magic.
What do your parents do? Do they work at the Ministry?
Professor Williams’ father works for the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts Office at the Ministry, but her mother makes a home. She stays home and nags the Professor and has flowers in the garden that she arranges. I do not know how she nags the Professor from her garden in London when the Professor is at Hogwarts, but then she is a witch.
When did you come to Hogwarts, and what house were you in?
Professor Williams was a Ravenclaw, and came to Hogwarts in 2015, which is fourteen years ago. That sounds like a very long time ago. It is years before I was born, but when she came to Hogwarts, even the oldest student here today was still a very small child. However, that is still younger than many Professors here, maybe even most.
What did you do before you came back to Hogwarts?
The Professor showed me the scars on her face when I asked this question, which I thought was a little strange, but she said she traveled a lot and did some dueling and odd jobs. I did not ask what was so odd about them, though, because sometimes people are sensitive about things like that. Anyway, she said she helped people in the Wizarding world and did some healing and sang in lounges, and was even a bartender. Maybe being a bartender is very dangerous, or being a lounge singer. Because she did have all those scars on her face. So I asked her:
What happened to your face? I mean… You do not have to say if you do not want to say.
She said she got the scars from dueling, but she did not get rid of the scars because they looked either like a bad donkey or a bad rear end. I do not think she wanted to look like a rear end, though, and definitely not a bad one. But I also do not think she wanted to look like a bad donkey either. She did not say donkey. She said another word that I should not write in here or the Deputy Headmistress will get mad and give me detention. But the word means either donkey or a person’s rear end. Professor Williams said not to put it in here anyway so I did not put it in here. She said the scars looked brave.
Where did you do all these things?
Professor Williams said she has gone many places: China, America, India, Egypt and South America. She said that it was not a problem that things cost money. Which is really nice, of course, if that is your situation. She said she was a healer in China, and visited places in Egypt and South America to learn about their mythology. And she was a bartender in America, and she said that you should not go to Florida. Now, Florida is a state in America. It is a hot place with lots of swamps and lizard people and talking mice named Mickey. It sounds like it could be a very interesting place to go! So I asked her:
Why not go to Florida?
The Professor said that it has dinosaurs and crazy people, along with the swamps, lizard people and talking mice named Mickey. I thought this was very strange, because all the dinosaurs were killed off many millions of years ago when a large asteroid hit the Earth. So maybe there should not be dinosaurs anymore. So I asked her:
How could there be dinosaurs in Florida?
She said that there are alligators, and that alligators are small dinosaurs. They must have survived the big asteroid hitting the Earth. They got a little smaller after the asteroid hit. I suppose that makes sense. But they are still dinosaurs. They do not have feathers, of course. But the dinosaurs were only one reason not to go to Florida. She also said the people were crazy. Of course, many Witches and Wizards are crazy, so I asked her:
Why are the people scary? Surely they are just Muggles? Are Florida Muggles scarier than regular Muggles?
The Professor said that yes, Florida Muggles are scarier than regular Muggles because they have no fear. And because they have no fear at all, they do whatever they want. They do not worry about consequences for what they do. This is because they have never had detention with Professor Vikander. I think he would sort them out very quickly. Anyway, I asked if Florida Muggles having no fear meant that they did whatever they wanted, even if it did not make sense to do it, and she said yes. But she wanted to stop talking about Florida Muggles so we stopped. Maybe this is something to ask the Professor about in the future. But do not say that I said to ask her, or she might send Florida Muggles and Florida dinosaurs after me. Now maybe I do not want to go to Florida because of the Florida Muggles and dinosaurs, even though they have swamps and lizard men and talking mice named Mickey. Be warned. Florida is dangerous. Maybe it is as dangerous as the Forbidden Forest. Florida will kill you.
What is your favorite colour?
She said she likes blue. Any kind of blue. She does not care which. She says they make her calm.
What do you like the most about teaching Mythology?
Professor Williams says that mythology is stories and morals from our past, and from people long ago. And even though those people are a long time ago, the morals are all sort of the same. And so we are a lot like ancient people. Those people liked stories of big heroes beating bad people, and we like that too. I suppose that must be true. For instance, we all like the story of the Second Wizarding War and how the evil Lord Voldemort was beaten here at Hogwarts. But that of course is not a myth. There is no way someone could make up a story like that.
If you were teaching anything other than Mythology at Hogwarts, what would it be?
The Professor said she would like to teach Astronomy or maybe Herbology. She would not want to teach something where people cast spells.
What do you like most about Hogwarts?
She said what she likes the most is that there is always help at Hogwarts for anyone who needs it, and all they have to do is ask. I forgot who to ask for help, though. Maybe I should have asked so everyone would know.
What is your favourite sweet?
The Professor said acid pops. She likes the way they hurt your tongue. I think that is weird, but I suppose people do like them. She said she likes some Muggle sweets too.
What do you think of detentions? Do you give a lot of detentions?
She actually laughed when I asked this question. It was a little scary, actually. Maybe it was even sinister. Because after all, she was laughing about detention, and for a student this is no laughing matter. The Professor said she has only ever given one detention, even though in the Rumours part of the Owl Post she is called Detention Opera. I asked if it is because she makes the students sing during the detention, but she said Opera is a Muggle who gives lots of things out. So a Detention Opera would be someone who says ‘you get a detention, and you get a detention, and you get a detention!’ And everyone gets detentions. I still think she might maybe make students sing during detention. So be careful. Or you could be singing opera in detention. She said she thinks detentions can be good, but she really wants us to write essays instead. Maybe singing opera sounds more fun than writing essays. Unless she is doing something else to you as you sing the operas. Maybe you have to clean things while you sing. As she laughs.
Is there anything you want to say to the students of Hogwarts? It can be anything.
She said that we all make mistakes and that is okay. And it is okay when others make mistakes because we are all only human. Most of us, anyway. Some of us are only not all human. But I suppose it is the same anyway. To make mistakes is not just human, it is also not all human.
Is there anything you would change about Hogwarts?
Professor Williams does not like the bullying that happens at Hogwarts. She said she can report it and she can give detentions, but people need to tell her it is happening and who is doing it so she can make them sing in detention. Actually, she did not say that specifically but I think maybe that could happen because she is Detention Opera.
Do you have a pet?
The Professor has six pets! They are giant Flemish rabbits, and they all have names: Juniper, Rose, Hazel, Clover, Ginger and Sage. They are not very big yet, but she showed me how big they will be. Maybe they will be almost as big as me. But I am very small, so maybe that is not so big to everyone else as it is to me.
Can I make a picture of you for the article?
She said yes so I made a picture of her. It is at the top of the article of course. I am not looking up her nose because I am standing and she is sitting on the floor. I did not get tall to make the picture. That would be strange and bothersome.
Professor Nianasha Williams is our Detention Opera. She comes from London, and has been all over the world. She has been a bartender, a healer, a duelist, and many other things. Her face is all scarred up because she thinks it is like a bad donkey or maybe a bad rear end, I am not really sure which. Or maybe I just heard it wrong. She says do not go to Florida in the United States because the Muggles have no fear and are very scary, and because there are dinosaurs in the swamps along with the lizard men and the talking mice named Mickey. I think it is important to be good in her class because if you are not good you might get a detention where you are singing Opera while you are being chased by dinosaurs and scary Florida Muggles. But she does have six giant rabbits, so maybe you can at least see the rabbits while the Florida Muggles and dinosaurs are chasing you. As you sing opera.
But she does seem very nice.
Happy Holidays to Hogwarts! Have a good holiday break, and try not to get into too much trouble because you do not want to end up in jail like Bobbie. And if you see Joe Housemate, tell him hi for me and tell me where he is. I am getting worried.
